Related Stories

Eddy is hoping to head off a mounting crisis over a prospective order to remove a Korean inscription from the back of a headstone in the St. George Cemetery.

He said Tuesday he is undeterred by the loss of his resolution at council's corporate development committee on Monday to rescind a section of the bylaw that restricts inscriptions on the backs of headstones in county cemeteries to only the family name.

The motion, which lost on a 5-5 vote, was designed to defuse a dispute that has erupted over a prospective order that would force the removal of an inscription of Korean characters on the headstone of the late Byung Soon Choi.

The inscription contains a genealogy of the Choi family, which is a Korean cultural custom to honour the lineage of loved ones.

Eddy said while he is disappointed with the result, he is drafting a different resolution to accomplish the same result, which will be presented at Tuesday's council meeting.

He is also working to build support for it on council.

"The matter needs to be settled because it's very divisive," the mayor said.

"There are all kinds of monuments in our cemeteries that are not in keeping with that section of the bylaw. I understand that now they are trying to get around the problem with a rule that if the plots were purchased before the bylaw was passed, they're alright.

"The only fair way is to just not have that section. We're wasting time, energy and funds."

Council is in a tight spot since its community services committee last month overturned a recommendation from the cemeteries advisory committee not to take action against a complaint it had received about the Choi headstone.

The higher committee instead endorsed four recommendations, including one calling for the inscription to be removed.

At a council meeting, some members expressed concerns about the order possibly violating sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protecting freedom of expression and enhancing Canada's multicultural society, and referred the matter back to that committee for further consideration.

In the meantime, council received a letter from a lawyer representing the Choi family, threatening legal action if the county proceeded with an order to remove the inscription.

The lawyer cited the same Charter provisions.

Elliott Choi, son of the deceased, said in an interview Tuesday that he was disappointed by the vote the night before, but expressed confidence that Eddy and a majority of councillors will ultimately prevail.

"We are still mourning the loss of my dad, and my mom is still recovering from surgery while this has been happening," he said.

"It's hit us hard but we are not going to give up."

Choi said the family's focus is trained on the next step.

"I don't want to be treated as special, as a cultural exception," he said.

"I want it to be that we are treated fairly like everyone and that the bylaw treats everyone with the same fairness."

He said the petition that he presented to council earlier with 378 signatures now has another 95 signatures.

"I feel we have very strong support from the people, not only in the county but from people in Ancaster, Brantford and Hamilton, who wanted to sign it."

Meanwhile, many readers have registered strong opinions on The Expositor's Facebook page and website, concerning councillors' voting on Eddy's failed resolution on Monday.

Those in favour of the mayor's resolution were councillors John Wheat, Steve Schmitt, Don Cardy and Robert Chambers.

"What a load of nonsense!" Jim Aldham wrote on the Facebook page. "People should be able to put whatever they want on their monument...There are bigger issues which need addressing, like the excessive cost of funerals, if council wants to take up an issue.